Respect Must Be Earned
by vayshti
Summary: Kisuke's Princess is not so pretty.


Title: **Respect must be earned**.  
Rating: **M  
**Characters: **Kisuke/Yoruichi, Benihime**  
Warnings: **Uses knowledge from –105 and –107. A bit on the violent side**.  
Word Count: **1212  
**Written for: **lj user"bleachcontest" prompt: Respect**

_It was too soon._

_It was too late._

_The time was just right._

Urahara Kisuke stood in the centre of his hidden playground, clenching and releasing the hilt of his zanpakutō over, and over. Yoruichi was close by, but remained silent, knowing that this was not the time to talk to her Third Seat. He needed all his concentration at the task before him. She sat. And watched.

Waited.

It was not too late to back out. Yoruichi knew she could call him, tell him that it was okay, that he had plenty of time…

…That there would be other opportunities.

He did not have to go for the Captaincy that she was sure was going to be announced in the next few days. There was no need to hurry, to push like this, no matter how much the Gotei 13 would be better off, no matter how much her relationship with Kisuke would be better off, if he were already a Captain.

Just as she was about to say that she was wrong, that he should forget it, that it was okay to still be her Third Seat for a little while longer, Kisuke had gripped his zanpakutō and thrust the blade through the centre of the Tenshintai.

Kisuke stood up, released the hilt so that the blade wavered. He turned to Yoruichi and smiled. 'Well, I'm not dead yet. That's a good sign.'

Yoruichi was confused. 'But you said you were totally confident that the Tenshintai would work.'

'And I am. But machinery is only as good as the person who operates it.'

He scratched the back of his head. 'There was always a chance that I wouldn't be strong enough. Releasing Benihime this way coulda killed me.'

Yoruichi nearly fell from her perch on the rocks. 'Kisuke! And you're only telling me this _now_?'

She scrambled from the rocks, running to him, gripping his arms and shaking him. 'I don't care if there isn't another vacancy for a hundred years. I'd prefer to _wait_ for another hundred years than lose you.'

Kisuke looked sheepish. 'It's too late.'

'What is? Nothing's happened.'

In reply Kisuke merely pointed over Yoruichi's shoulder. She turned, to see a stranger - a stranger in _their_ secret training ground. She went into defensive mode, ready to challenge the interloper, when Kisuke stayed her arm. 'That's Benihime.'

Yoruichi turned back to face Kisuke, surprise written on her face. 'That's your zanpakutō? A woman?'

Kisuke shifted from foot to foot, embarrassed. 'You can see why I hadn't told anyone. Everyone will either think I'm some big girl, or that I'm a filthy perve.'

'You are filthy perve, Urahara. Don't pretend otherwise. I do not think you can fool your _Captain_ any more than you can fool me.'

The zanpakutō slowly walked up behind Yoruichi. 'You're wasting our time, Captain Shihouin. I suggest you leave.'

The voice that floated over Yoruichi's shoulder sounded like the husky tones of the freshly woken, the well-bedded; and yet it fit completely with the physicality of Benihime's form. Benihime was arrogant, haughty, cold, and despite that, Yoruichi was equally as sure that her demeanour was a simple layer, that Benihime's arrogance was as much as a façade as Kisuke's stupidity.

Yoruichi, looked to Kisuke, before nodding. It was too late. Kisuke had released Benihime and now he had to see this through. No Bankai, no Captaincy. It was as simple as that.

_But, no Bankai… no more Urahara Kisuke._

She kissed a finger before laying it on Kisuke's lips, a gesture which surprised him. It had been too long since she had shown affection like that; their respective positions in the Gotei 13 having caused a chasm to appear between them. With a final nod, Yoruichi returned to her perch on the rocks. Kisuke had asked that she stay present, that he needed her, even though Yoruichi had no idea how she could possibly be of any help.

Benihime waited until Yoruichi had settled again before she said anything. She wanted the Captain to see this. She hit Urahara across the face. Hard. It was an open handed slap, but she'd caught his lip against his teeth and she could see the blood welling already. She smiled in satisfaction.

Kisuke on the other hand, looked confused. 'What was that for?'

'Your idiocy.'

He looked crestfallen. 'Does this mean I have already failed? That I can't achieve Bankai?'

She shook her head, waves of blood-red hair falling around her shoulders. 'You can achieve it, Urahara. But - this method of obtaining it? It shows me no respect, Urahara.'

She raked her crimson nails against his cheek. 'You need to show your Crimson Princess more respect if you're _ever_ going to be able to get Bankai.'

Kisuke nursed his cheek, blood already running over his fingers, but he waved at Yoruichi to stay put. This was his battle, and his battle alone. He just needed Yoruichi there.

_In case it's your last._

He looked up at the cold, beautiful creature that stood opposite him. 'How do I show you respect, Benihime?'

For his trouble, she kicked him in the groin, making him crumple to his knees. 'I am you. You are me. You show me respect when you are finally worthy of it yourself. Respect has to be earned, Urahara. And you have to earn mine.'

She leant in, caressing his hair, before dragging him along the ground by it. 'You want Bankai? You're going have to earn it. You're going to have to make me give it to you.'

She screwed up her face and looked at the pathetic heap on the ground. 'And you're not off to a very good start, are you, Urahara?'

He raised his head from the ground. 'I guess not.'

'Gaining Respect; this is a lesson you are going to have to learn many, many times. I know you too well, Urahara. You gain Bankai this way? Expect to have to prove yourself to everyone else over and over again. Respect will always be hard for you to get.'

'I don't care about the others.'

'No? That's good. It'll make today go a lot easier if that's the case.'She ground her heel into Urahara's head, forcing it back to the ground. His mouth was full of dirt, but he still needed to speak. His voice was muffled, the words malformed by his lips against the ground, but still decipherable. 'What do I need to do to gain yours?'

She smiled, and it was a smile that was both cold, yet sensual. 'I said you were a filthy perve, Urahara. I probably should have said we both are.'

She made a wide gesture to the ground around them, it was littered with fragments of chain, chain so dark, so black that it looked as though it could suck the light from the sun. 'These are fragments of your soul. Your not so beautiful soul.'

'One fragment represents Respect. Only that fragment can bind me. Only then will I give you Bankai.'

She glanced at Yoruichi. 'I'm glad she's watching. It'd be good for her to know exactly what you're like on the inside, Urahara.

Benihime smiled, and it was not pleasant. 'She won't think you're so beautiful after today.'


End file.
